garage floor paint

My garage floor looks so bad, when the dog takes a dump in there, I have to
look for it. I want to take a wire wheel and a chisel and take down some
blobs of paint and concrete spatter that the genius who built the house
left.
I then want to paint it. I know there are epoxies and stuff with sprinkles.
Looks great. I've seen some floors with that. Is there a cheaper
alternative?
Steve

The rubber mats are sold in pieces that interlock. You buy as many
as you need. It is supposedly oil/gas resistant. But it is not a
solid surface and if the dog continues to use the garage you will have
a real mess to take it apart and clean up and then put back together.
The spoxy with sprinkles looks like a good solution, I don't know how
it stands up to the salt/snow/ice crap we get here in the Chicago
cuburbs.

I thought about the garage "tiles", but decided that it would be too hard to
keep clean. I have the epoxy paint with sprinkles (the builder put it down).
I like it. The only drawback I notice with it is that it's a little harder to
sweep clean. Sorry, no salt/snow/ice in Alabama - left that crap in Vermont.
;-)

East-central (Auburn/Opelika). They closed the university and my employer
closed down on an inch of speculation. It didn't start until well after noon
but they announced the closings the previous night. Of course I showed up
thinking that they certainly wouldn't close for *nothing*.
I told my wife when we lived in Vermont, I have a 4WD "off-road" truck so I
can go anywhere. I can even go off the road.

"Northern by birth, Southern by the grace of God" Old Alabama Hillbilly
saying found written on the wall of a cave by little known ancient
ancestral Cavebillies. Damn Yankees come down here, discover how
beautiful it is and we can't get them to leave. After they're here a
while and learn the language, they go native. It's amusing to explain
to a former Yankee that he should wear a shirt with his overalls and
that shoes are really a good idea.
TDD

Key words being 'the builder put it down'. Epoxy works best on very
young concrete, like right after the first 30 days of curing with people
and oily grime kept off of it. People I know who put it on old concrete,
even cleaned with acid, found it fragile, and easily damaged by hot
tires, and the squirming action if they turn the wheel while parking or
backing out.
If I was a rich man, and building a new garage, I'd likely use it, but
since that ain't ever gonna happen, push brooms and maybe a pressure
washer if it gets really nasty, are my lot.
--
aem sends...

I can be done on old concrete, but its a real expensive time consuming
job few understand. My old greased up floor with oil leaks for 70
years was a greasy mess, it took about 20 hours and 250$ in chemicals
and eqipment in 1985 to prep it, then I stained it with HC concrete
stain, its still on today except under tires and foot areas. I rented
a buffer, bought about 150$ in acid and cleaner-degreasers, and worked
till it was clean, then acid etched it twice - 3 times in some spots
until it tested Pourus. Then used HC oil stain. Few understand what
necessary prep is, or when concrete is actualy ready, and you need the
right temperature of air and concrete to get it to bond and cure fast,
thats in the hot days of summer when the ground is warm. Yes new is
best by far, far less prep, usualy a quick clean and 1 acid wash. Acid
washing is dangerous with Fuming Muriatic, not only is a respirator a
must, big fans are needed to move out the fumes to keep you safe. If I
had to bid my garage in 1985 its was over 1200.00 for a 2 car garage,
and few home owners would pay a bid like that in 85, but its still
holding up. To redo it again today, it would be a big job again.
Everyone complains paint peels, yes it does, and more so when prep
isnt 100% right, I chose stain because it wears away.

A reputable two part epoxy with or without the decorative sprinkles will work
fine in the upper midwest. You will want to use some antislip grit as melting
snow or water will be unbelievably slippery.
Note - this is not a project you want to do "cheap". Prep is 90% of the job and
saving a couple bucks on the material isn't worth it.

No. Anything cheaper will not adhere nearly as well nor last as long.
Epoxy floor paint has been around for decades, so obviously it meets
the price/performance standards for most people. Sprinkles are
discarded by many in the final paint. Did so myself. Sand for traction
is another non essential.
Joe

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